American gun culture: Too much ‘clenched fist,’ too little political spine

The NRA’s Dana Loesch recently released a video urging gun owners to “rise up with the clenched fist of truth.” It would appear that Stephen Paddock has answered her clarion call, killing 58 and wounding 500 concert-goers in Las Vegas. In his hotel room, enough weapons to outfit a small army. At his home, even more armaments.

In a related story, circuses are closing in the United States, taking with them their trained animal acts; but if you miss these acts you can still catch them in the United States Congress, where senators and representatives jump through the NRA’s hoops and perform strange contortions to avoid confronting gun control. When the NRA tells them, “Jump,” our elected representatives ask, “How high?” and they’re on the way up when they ask. Ask these representatives of the American people about gun control and they start looking for the exit, or say, “Now is not the place or time.” It never seems to be the time or place.

Here is a really scary thought … police had a hard time figuring out where the Vegas shooter was firing from because of his distance from and height above the concert. Imagine how much more difficult this would have been if the legislation to allow silencers had already passed and he was using one. One of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre could hear the gunshots coming toward them. Presumably, this allowed them some time to react before the shooter got to them. How much worse would these blood lettings have been if silencers had been legal?

I’m a voter in search of a spine in our Congress, but I don’t expect to find one anytime soon.

Bishop’s hypocrisy

On October 3, Congress overwhelmingly passed HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Sanford Bishop, along with every other Georgia Democrat in the Congressional Black Caucus, voted No.

HR 36 is based on medical evidence that an unborn child can experience pain at least by 20 weeks. There is a compelling government interest in protecting the life of unborn children who can experience pain.

Sanford Bishop routinely claims to be pro-life. His vote against this bill displays a glaring inconsistency. If he persists in his claims to be pro-life, he is lying.

Sanford Bishop’s vote did not represent the strongly held values of African-American, Hispanic, and white voters in his district. His vote followed the wishes of Washington big money such as Planned Parenthood. His vote is especially a slap in the face of African-Americans who traditionally are pro-life and vote Democrat.

This vote is proof positive that Sanford Bishop takes the African-American voter for granted. The history of racial targeting and bigotry of the abortion industry is reason enough for the Congressional Black Caucus to stand for life. If you are African-American, consider what Sanford Bishop does when in Washington versus what the politician says when campaigning.

Sparse roster

Lincoln is recognized as the most prominent and important Republican President, the first of the breed. Elected in 1860 and thereafter engulfed in the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil War ravages, he faced stern opposition from within his own party when seeking reelection in 1864. Not the least of the opposition was addressed to his quest for progressive taxation in anticipation of nation building when hostilities ceased. He was a man of all the people.

Teddy Roosevelt defended U.S. sovereignty, protected the national parks from development and encroachment and warned us that “a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power” could easily destroy American democracy. Dwight Eisenhower understood the ravages of the Hoover Administration’s input in the stock market crash of 1928, the ensuing economic catastrophe associated with WWII participation and the necessity to rebuild the nation under FDR’s valiant New Deal agenda. Moreover, he warned us emphatically about the dangers of the emergent military-industrial complex that now besieges us interminably.

There has been no Republican equivalent since these three stalwarts, and from Nixon to Reagan to Bushx2 and now Trump, all of the noble and patriotic roots have been scuttled with more criminality to follow. There’s a helluva lot of aiding and abetting to spread around, and we as a nation had better get back to more honorable roots.

Bloodless cuisine

Like most others, I always thought of farm animals as "food on the hoof." But farm animals are fully deserving of our compassion and respect.

They get neither. Male baby chicks are routinely suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground up alive. Laying hens are crowded into small wire cages. Breeding sows are kept pregnant in tiny metal crates. Dairy cows have their babies snatched away immediately upon birth. It drove me to replace the animal products in my diet with a rich variety of plant-based meats and dairy items offered by my grocery store. A cruelty-free diet is also great for my health and for the health of our planet.

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 1:47 PM with the headline "American gun culture: Too much ‘clenched fist,’ too little political spine."